Rental prices going through the roof

The prices of residential rentals has begun to rise again and with added demand for apartments from foreign workers and tourists it looks like rent might go through the roof. The workers’s union Efling covers the situation of renters in their latest newsletter.

“International comparison shows that the Icelandic welfare system is not protecting renters from an insecure rental market and rising prices in the rental market which is not really regulated at all,” is stated in the newsletter.

It is highlighted that rent in Iceland has risen by 102% in Reykjavik in the last ten years. That is considerably more than you can see in other European countries. The government’s decision to increase housing benefits by 10%, only means 2000-3200 ISKR per month for the renter which is not even close to the rise of rent and now also the rise of the cost of living in the last years.

“Housing benefits need to be increased dramatically and some measures must be put in place to counter continually increased prices.”